Star Trek: Journey On

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by Dashiell Mirai, Nov 21, 2017.

  1. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Ok, so I know that pretty much every Trekkie and their grandma has an idea for a new series, but let me tell you a little about mine. First of all, my purpose is a little odd. I don't have the means nor the skill to get this made into a real TV series, or even a podcast, or whatever. It would be really, really great if I could, and I'm holding out a distant hope that I could get it fully realised, but for the time being, I'd just like you good people of the interwebs to look at my ideas. I'm going to be mostly posting information and ideas about premise, characters, environment, etc. If I have an idea that's completely terrible, tell me, whoever ends up reading this. (I'm under no delusions that this will be popular, I'm just hoping for a couple of readers at best.) Right, rambling aside, here's the premise.


    Series Premise: Two years after the events of Voyager, the Federation is sending out a fleet of three specialised ships to partially retrace its steps. Voyager didn’t exactly have a lot of time for science near the end of its journey, and they missed a lot of area because of the massive jumps they made. The Thoth, the Ganesha, and the Athena are sent out to the edge of Federation space, and sent on their way, outfitted with technology Voyager picked up from the Delta Quadrant. With the Thoth leading the way, the Triad sets out to boldly go where no one has gone before. (Well, maybe someone, but come on, it's just a tagline.)

    So? What'd you think? I'll post some character profiles tomorrow.
    ~ Cheers, Dashiell Mirai.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
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  2. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'd say start working this into a fanfic series and let people read your work, what you write and the readers imagination will make it far grander than anything you'll ever get on screen.

    As a premise it's alright, the focus on exploration and discovery is a good way to go, though without more information its hard to say much else. Something to think about going forward is the support that ships would need when out in deep space, they can't rely on finding aid from other species or planets with materials or supplies they will likely need at some point in their journey (that they would be able to get at a starbase).
     
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  3. Sgt_G

    Sgt_G Commodore Commodore

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    There are plenty of ways to set up a story line for a ship (or ships) being sent beyond the edge of explored space. You don't "need" to retrace Voyager's footprints. It's okay if that's really what you want to do. But how about, say, the ship Riker was offered, USS Melbourne, if I'm not mistake, had a mission to explore deep space. Even if Riker doesn't take the center seat, you have a good ship and crew to work with.
     
  4. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Well, it's a bit too late for that, considering I've thought out most of the main characters and crew, at least for one of the ships. Speaking of which, I just got some character profiles finished for the crew of the USS Thoth.
    Name: Anya Shreve
    Position (Rank): Captain
    Species; Appearance: Human
    Personality; Trivia: Best descriptors would be “mad and doctor-y”. If you’ve ever watched Doctor Who, you’ll know what I mean. She can seem nonchalant, or even loopy and unprofessional, but almost always has a plan. The fun and charm is a facade, and when it drops, she can be like fire and ice and rage. Far more clever than you think.
    History: She graduated from Starfleet Academy with flying colours, but gained a reputation for troublemaking while there. She would talk back to her teachers, and even correct them. Known for her adaptability, Anya often uses methods Starfleet Command finds questionable, and bends the regulations. She has narrowly escaped court-martial on several occasions in her youth. Despite this, her moral compass is infallible.

    Name: D'Lan
    Position (Rank): First Officer (Commander)
    Species; Appearance: Vulcan
    Personality; Trivia: Serious, but not angry, or unduly uptight. Very intuitive, and surprisingly understanding of the emotions of others. If good at applying his logic to the real world, as supposed to academia.
    History: Has been close friends with Captain Shreve since they were at the academy. Despite their differences, Commander D’Lan gets along with her remarkably well. He can read her like a book, and knows when her craziness is the oh-I’ve-got-a-plan craziness, or the I’m-being-unprofessional craziness.

    Name: Eric Camden
    Position (Rank): Chief Engineer (Lieutenant Commander)
    Species; Appearance: Human (Cybernetic Modifications, implants near the right temple and a metal arm.)
    Personality; Trivia: Very friendly and outgoing, but seems to darken when there’s a possibility someone might get hurt. Is very good at chess and poker, crewmates, constantly accuse him of cheating. Looks and acts kind of like a “bro”, but is very intelligent and somewhat fatherly to new crew members. He could have gotten a cloned arm, but he thinks the metal one “has character”.
    History: Was injured severely a year and nine months ago, testing an experimental warp drive modification. Evidence came to light that the incident was due to him neglecting safety procedures, and he’s wracked with survivor’s guilt as a result. He kept his career, but not part of his brain. His motor cortex had to be replaced with a positronic implant.

    So there's more on the way, but let me know what you think.
     
  5. Sgt_G

    Sgt_G Commodore Commodore

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    Just to skim over them, not bad. Some pretty cool ideas there. No need to post it here, but I would suggest expanding some of the data to include age, height/weight, skin/hair/eye color, etc. You don't want to accidentally change a character from a blue-eyed blonde to a green-eyed brunette. Make a separate file for each character and add notes as you go along.

    A long-running debate is how much of the crew do you need to create. To me, it's important to make a crew roster for the entire ship listing every crewman by rank and duty position before you get too deep into the series. This is especially true for a ship on a long deep-space mission that can't rotate new crew in periodically by stopping at a Star Base every now and again. You also have to decide whether you're going to have a blend of officers/enlisted, or are you going with the Roddenberry view that "everyone is an officer".

    You don't need to come up with full backgrounds or even give them names at this point, but I feel you should know ahead of time how many people are in each department on the ship. Which means you should sit down and figure out the ship's capabilities as well. For example, in my world, each Phaser ball requires a two-man crew to operate it. Ergo, I know I need 2X crew for a ship with X number of phasers, and 4 crewmen for each Photon tube, so I have to figure out how many weapons my ship has early in my writings. (It helps that I tend to "borrow" ship designs from Star Fleet Battles and thus know all that data already.) I know I need a minimum of 5 crew to man the bridge, times 3 to 5 teams to cover 24/7 operations. With only three teams, nobody ever gets a day off; with five teams everyone gets plenty of down time but also work weird shift rotations. Except for the smallest ships, I have a post for a dedicated Bridge Watch Officer on each team, meaning the ship's captain doesn't have to sit in the Center Seat all day.

    I have a spreadsheet that tells me that crewman #19 is an enlisted Signalman / Crypto Tech, is a human female, is a Petty Officer Second Class with 7-10 years in service, and is between 25 and 33 years old. I haven't given her a name yet. Line number 75 lists a male Tellarite Petty Officer Third Class engine room tech, which put him at between 3 and 8 years time-in-service. That's all I know about him at this point.

    Crewman #98 is my Chief Petty Officer in charge of shuttle-craft maintenance. He has a name, which tells me I have a full write-up on him already. I open that file and I find that he is:
    Species/Race: Human (Multi-ethnic) | Gender: Male
    Height: 5’7” / 170 cm | Weight: 155 - 180 Lbs / 70 - 82 kg | Age: 42
    Appearance: Average build with a bit of a spare tire, dark-tan/light-brown complexion, brown eyes/hair.
    Hobbies/Interests: Spends a lot of time in the gym trying to fight his yo-yo weight problem. Loves watching old movies, reading books, and playing computer games. Always willing to join a poker game, usually breaks even.

    Again, it's up to you how much of this "extra work" you want to do. In my opinon, it helps keep the stories internally consistent. All in all, it looks like you're off to a great start. Keep at it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2017
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  6. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I'll try, but honestly, I've never been one for spreadsheets. Also, I have three ships worth of characters to make. I'm going for an Assassination Classroom sort of thing (Yes, I'm an otaku, sue me) where we have a lot of characters, but each one has depth and distinction. Could be tricky, but here's the rest of the Thoth crew so far.

    Name: Keylar
    Position (Rank): Security Chief (Lieutenant Commander)
    Species; Appearance: Inyoni (Metallic armoured plates, somewhat like scales or feathers, and spiked ridges, claws and a beak.) Height of 205 cm, weight 115 kg. Very lean build.
    Personality; Trivia: Very self-conscious, especially about his reputation. He occasionally scratches other crew members with his spikes or ridges, on accident, of course. Very apologetic, especially about that. Not unkind, but rather antisocial, whether by choice or not. He is overly cautious in planning, sometimes to the detriment of his security staff. However, his combat skill, especially marksmanship, is top-notch. He has a weakness for gossip, especially if it’s about him. He has a lot of trouble understanding human culture, especially humour. His laugh sounds like a bird call.
    History: He is the first Inyoni to join Starfleet. His people are a prey species, ruled over long ago by a predator upper caste. However, they evolved defense mechanisms, hence the armour, and overthrew the predators. For centuries, they have remained a closed-off, yet warlike species. They don’t participate in major wars or politics, and respond only when threatened. Fun fact: Inyoni can roll up like hedgehogs to protect themselves. However, they don't do it unless the situation is life-threatening, because it's undignified.

    Name: Nirin
    Position (Rank): Chief Medical Officer
    Species; Appearance: Andorian, pale blue skin, slicked-back bob of blonde hair. Height of 166 cm, weight 75 kg. Lean, non-muscular.
    Personality; Trivia: Twitchy and awkward, Dr. Nirin’s bedside manner could use work, but his skills are unparalleled. He specialises in cybernetic medicine and exobiology. He is Starfleet Medical’s leading expert on non-humanoid physiology.
    History: At the Academy, he was extremely successful, at least where academics was concerned. He was antisocial, and bullied often, especially by higher-ranking cadets and upperclassmen. He hasn’t served on many ships before, and even then he was only there for a short time. He stutters when he speaks. (Apparently advanced medical science hasn't solved speech impediments.)

    Name: Elizabeth Ayodele
    Position (Rank): Science Officer (Lieutenant)
    Species; Appearance: Human, dark skin, short black hair. Height of 170 cm, average weight and build.
    Personality; Trivia: Elizabeth, better known as Liza, is personable, but sarcastic. She enjoys dry humour, and often makes jokes at the expense of strangers. This can make her look catty, but her intentions are to get a laugh, not to hurt anyone. She is always loyal to her friends.
    History: At Starfleet Academy, Elizabeth took numerous courses in Cybernetics. She took a special interest in the Borg, and studied various ways to use their own technology against them. Has had numerous brushes with Section 31.

    Name: Kireny
    Position (Rank): Comm Officer (Lieutenant)
    Species; Appearance: Kembar (Vertical eyelids, nose and forehead markings) Height of 157 cm, average weight and build.
    Personality; Trivia: Kireny is psychologically linked with his twin, Jaiyune. They can read each other’s thoughts, and can read the emotions of others, though not as much as many other empathic species. By himself, Kireny is quiet and work-motivated, but in the presence of his twin, he lights up and becomes more social.
    History: Though they are not the first, Kireny and Jaiyune are one of the few twinned Kembar to join Starfleet. They both studied long-distance communication and Subspace Mechanics at the Academy. Kireny has a penchant for eavesdropping.

    Name: Leonard Bronte
    Position (Rank): Chief Liaison (Noncommissioned)
    Species; Appearance: Human, Germanic descent. Short blonde hair, broad shoulders, muscular build. Height of 189 cm.
    Personality; Trivia: Bronte appears tough and stoic at the negotiations table, and follows Starfleet regulations with reverence. He has a firm yet friendly manner around the other crew members, while still being very professional. He is often uneasy with the Captain’s unorthodox methodology.
    History: He was on the debate team at the Academy, and went to the championships several times. He also negotiated various minor accords with the Romulans during the Dominion War.

    Name: Ghanaar
    Position (Rank): Helm Officer (Ensign)
    Species; Appearance: Tellarite, long ponytail, neat blonde beard. Height of 176 cm, broad build.
    Personality; Trivia: He’s a gruff, yet friendly sort of person, very much a "gentle giant". Adept at mathematics, Ghanaar is an accomplished pilot, although he enjoys piloting shuttlecraft to a ship. He is fiercely loyal to his friends and aggressive to his enemies.
    History: He served in the Tellarite Flight Service as a private pilot before joining Starfleet. He enjoyed a great social life at the academy and was posted on several Federation ships.

    Name: Draxen
    Position (Rank): Nurse (Noncommissioned)
    Species; Appearance: Denobulan, averagely pale skin. Long, greasy hair, blonde-ish. Height of 167 cm, slightly overweight.
    Personality; Trivia: Officially, he’s a nurse, but he’s also the ship’s cook and resident gossip-monger. He’s a “miscellaneous” character in the same vein as Quark, Guinan, or Neelix (Although he’s not nearly so annoying). He is a superb cook, and boasts a knowledge of herbs and fauna on various planets and their traditional uses.
    History: He attended Starfleet Academy for six months and then dropped out. However, Starfleet wanted him on this mission because of his uncanny ability to prepare inedible material so that it’d be edible.
     
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  7. Sgt_G

    Sgt_G Commodore Commodore

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    It doesn't have to be a spreadsheet. However you want to keep track of things, or not, is up to you. Some writers don't bother making notes at all.

    By the way, nurses are officers (at least in today's military); medics / corpsmen are enlisted / non-commissioned.
     
  8. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Right, but Draxen isn't a technically member of Starfleet.
     
  9. Sgt_G

    Sgt_G Commodore Commodore

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    Ah, so, he's a civilian. Works for me.
     
  10. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Yeah. I'm currently working on the crew of the Ganesha. As an extra thought towards the dynamic between ships, the Ganesha and the Athena report to the Thoth. The three will often split up and reconvene. Because of the distance, communication to Earth occurs in scheduled dumps.
     
  11. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Lt. Commander Keylar seems a little bit of a contradiction, being antisocial but with a weakness for gossip. Also the species sounds interesting though I'm a little confused about the metallic plates/spikes/feathers angle, if it was a defence that evolved over generations to protect against predators on their homeworld then I'd see it being more bone or thickened/armoured skin/scales, metal makes it sound as though this was something they added to themselves (which I could see them using whilst facing off against the predators but then discarding after they were free of them). Also they're warlike but don't engage in wars seems like another contradiction.
     
  12. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I'm so glad you commented on this, I've actually been giving the Inyoni, and Keylar in particular, a lot of thought. I probably should have used different phrasing, for example, he's not antisocial, per se. He just has difficulty initiating conversations, and often observes other people socialising, as supposed to joining in. As for the gossip thing, it's more of Draxen talking to him out of pity, because, at least at first, he sits alone in the mess hall. He's just very eager to know what people are saying, especially about him. As for the metal plates, they are a lot like scales, except they oftentimes portrude and overlap like feathers. They are made of iron, however, they are not artificial. It's something they grow. If an Inyoni is injured and missing a plate, it will grow back. An Inyoni's blood is silver, and dark red when clotted or oxidised, because of the high concentration of iron. They actually eat iron, though it is not their sole nutrition.
    Now, after Dr. Mirai's wonderfully boring physiology lecture, I'm sure what you need is a nice long rundown of Inyoni culture and politics. What's that? No? Ok, splendid! (I'm really punchy. It's late, but I couldn't go to sleep without responding, 'cause I'm just like that.)
    The Inyoni are a very reclusive and defensive people. They trouble themselves little with quadrant-wide wars, and have had mostly peace after the vanquishing of their predacious overlords centuries ago, but when attacked, they respond viciously. When the Federation was still at war with the Klingons, they made passes at Kenayi (the Inyoni homeworld), which were repelled. The Romulans have also attempted attacks on Kenayi, only to be pushed back. They are, for the most part, very passive-aggressive, both in politics and personality. They are not necessarily xenophobic, but generally distrustful of other species. Their relationship with the Federation is warming, however, and there are even talks of membership.
    Looping back around to Keylar, he is generally more open than his species tends to be, as well as more passive and less aggressive. He joined security to protect others, not to fight. He has kind of a Cowardly Lion thing going on, where he's often afraid, but fights his fears quite literally.
    Ok, this post has gone on long enough. I could ramble for hours, but I'll spare you the agony.
    ~ Cheers, One Tired Boi
     
  13. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ah ok, so he's an observant wallflower type of person, that I can relate too (nothing quite like people watching, lol).

    The Inyoni sound like a very bizarre species, and that's a good thing (I'm assuming they've gotten round the whole iron oxide issue, don't need a security chief rusting up on a rainy planet, hehe). So they're more protective than warlike, they'll fight tooth and nail to defend what's their's and stay out of the major events of the quadrant, but aren't out conquering others and looking to pick a fight.

    Have to say, I love the fact that you've got such a diverse cast of alien characters!
     
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  14. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Haha, there's a lot more diversity coming your way. I'm going to include several non-humanoids, although it's going to be a little weird accommodating the non-air breathers. I want to make my crews as strange as possible, because the excuse, "Oh, muh Progenitor race, (almost) everyone is humanoid" just doesn't hold up.
     
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  15. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Species from non-M-Class would have their own ways and means of surviving outside of their natural environment (such as the Zaranite from the TOS Movies, there was also the hydrogen breathing Lothra mentioned in "Melora" [I've included one in a story of my own]).

    I'll be very interested to see what you come with.
     
  16. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    *rubs hands together*
    *maniacal laugh*
    Oh, you'll see. You'll see.
     
  17. Laura Cynthia Chambers

    Laura Cynthia Chambers Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  18. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Hmm, thank you for pointing me towards that. I've been browsing Memory Alpha looking at various species. Specieses? Speci? Oh wait, I've got it, speciae.
    Dammit. English makes no sense.
    Anywhale, I've got the profiles for some of the Ganesha's crew.

    Name: Moret Kahlya
    Position (Rank): Captain
    Species; Appearance: Bolian, stocky, 178 cm, muscular
    Personality; Trivia: Follows Starfleet regulations more rigidly than Captain Shreve, but is willing to eschew them, if the situation demands it. Keeping up morale is one of his failings, as he is not one for partying. Can be rather stuffy, but has boundless reserves of courage in combat.
    History: Was a great favorite with his teachers at the Academy. Took extension courses in exo-archaeology. Fought on the front lines at the battle of sector 001, has experience with the Borg.

    Name: Jelani Walker
    Position (Rank): First Officer (Commander)
    Species; Appearance: Human, French descent, olive skin, dark brown hair. 195 cm, lean, muscular build.
    Personality; Trivia: Decidedly the ship’s Casanova. Often provides a more lighthearted counterpoint to Captain Kahlya’s stoic personality. However, some consider this to be annoying.
    History: Got into Starfleet Academy at an unusually young age. A favorite with many admirals, though he alway preferred starship assignment to desk jobs.

    Name: Ilmar
    Position (Rank): Chief Engineer (Lieutenant Commander)
    Species; Appearance: Aquan, turquoise skin, scales, long hair. 197 cm, muscular. Wears water-filled breathing apparatuses over his gills.
    Personality; Trivia: A deeply spiritual man, Ilmar prays in his quarters’ water shrine twice every day. His quarters, save for an entrance landing, are filled with water, held back by a forcefield. He’s quick to laughter but quick to anger, especially if anyone mocks his beliefs.
    History: He was one of the few Aquans to join Starfleet Academy. He got into fights several times, but showed a lot of promise with experimental warp technology.

    Name: Callista Ven
    Position (Rank): Chief Medical Officer
    Species; Appearance: Trill (joined)
    Personality; Trivia: Callista is a compassionate woman with an extremely reliable moral compass. She lives by the hippocratic oath, and can be found circulating Triad-wide gossip and dispensing romance advice. Sometimes, both she and others put too much stock in said advice. Is very good friends with Draxen.
    History: The Ven symbiont has had three hosts besides Callista: Daren, Nel, and Mirakei. Daren was a daredevil pilot and ladies man, Nel was also a doctor, and Mirakei was a poet. Callista was one of the top candidates for joining.
     
  19. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm curious as to why you've left ranks off for your doctors.
     
  20. Dashiell Mirai

    Dashiell Mirai Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Eh, lazy.
     
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